


37 Part I

by WhattheDutch



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22092439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhattheDutch/pseuds/WhattheDutch
Summary: A story of an Exo attempting to unlock some of the secrets of his past. A Titan grieving for his lost Fireteam. A Hunter seeking to rally her order to a new doctrine. A Warlock seeking to defend those he cares about. This is the story of Dutch-37 and his Fireteam.





	37 Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: This takes place in the aftermath of Destiny: Forsaken, but before the events of Shadowkeep. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

I

Three Guardians huddled together in their makeshift barracks, trying to block out the sandstorm which wailed around them. The barracks was a former Cabal observation post, solid, but worn from years of battle. Holes in it were crudely patched with lashed down Phalanx shields, which unfortunately left cracks for the storm to get in. As the trio sat quietly, the shield which served as the door was opened, sand and wind flying in as a fourth Guardian stumbled in. The figure turned, slamming the shield back into the doorway and locking it in place.  
“Thank the Light, I thought I was going to be blown away,” said the newcomer, a Warlock wearing the bond of the Praxic Order, “I’ll tell you what though, once the storm finally breaks, we’ll be reconnected to the Vanguard network.” 

“Thanks Felix,” said the Hunter sitting on the floor, her long scarlet cloak wrapped around herself like a blanket, the sigil of the House of Devils painted on it. “Sooner we can call in a relief force and fresh supplies, the better.” As Felix entered, he shifted one of the Cabal shields, moving it across the opening to seal the barracks. The storm finally somewhat silenced, he removed his helmet to reveal a young human guardian, with close-cut black hair and deep brown skin. A streak of white face-paint marred his otherwise smooth skin. 

“Mind you,” he said, “That’s if the Vanguard can spare anything for a small outpost on the Martian Front with only one fireteam of Guardians.” 

“It’ll be alright,” said a Titan, bearing the mark of Pilgrim Guard. His heavy armor had seen many firefights, as evidenced by the numerous burns, scrapes, and scars which dotted its surface. “We can hold.” 

“Of course we can,” said the last Guardian, a Warlock by his armor and bond, which was that of the Crucible. “But not all of us are so good at punching things as you are. We need more ammunition, and I wouldn’t say no to some replacement troops.” The Guardians sat for a while, talking some, but mostly catching up on rest that was long overdue. At last, the storm outside began to quiet down, and they exited their barracks, wandering about their home away from home. The base was positioned overlooking a long canyon, with a low trench dug around it. Aside from the barracks, there was one building with a communications array set up, and various crates set around the area, which had been tossed around in the Martian storm. Poe-5, the Titan, accompanied Felix back to the comms building, where they began to scan channels for the Vanguard’s encryption. Dutch-37, the other Warlock, strode over to the trench line, peering through the scope of his auto-rifle across the sand as the Hunter dropped down beside him.

“See anything Dutch?” she said, lifting her own rifle to scope in. 

“I’ve got nothing,” he replied, holstering his rifle on his back. “Hopefully the Cabal stay back for a while until we can get a hold of the Vanguard.” They both turned to see Poe tapping his helmet as Felix tinkered with something inside. While Guardian Fireteams normally consisted of 3 Guardians, the aftermath of the Red War had shattered many Fireteams, leaving many Guardians on their own. Poe had been one of those displaced, and as he knew Caitlin, she insisted that he join her, Dutch, and Felix, despite her constant sarcasm toward the Titan.

“With those two, I wouldn’t count on it,” she said, a wry tone in her voice. Dutch chuckled as Poe slapped the back of Felix’s helmet. 

“Have a little faith in them Caitlin, they’ll get it eventually.” She rolled her eyes inside her helmet. Across the way, Poe straightened up excitedly. 

“Guys! I’ve got a connection!” He turned toward them, his Ghost broadcasting the relay into all of their helmets. “Vanguard Actual, this is Cliffside Outpost, how copy?” The line was somewhat clouded by static, but after a moment the Guardians heard,

“-Outpost, we copy. What’s your sitrep?” Poe took the lead, saying, 

“We’ve held off several Cabal advance groups, but we’re getting low on ammunition and supplies. Requesting a relief force and resupply, over.” They waited a moment, as silence met them from the other end of the connection. 

“Alright, we’ve got a relief force heading out in half an hour. Supplies will be arriving with them. When they get-bzzt-head back to Transmat Zone 25 for pick up. We’re cycling out another Guardian unit nearby so we’ll have-bzzt-them there to catch a ride back to the Tower.”

Felix pumped a fist excitedly as Poe replied, “Thanks Vanguard Actual, Cliffside over and out.” The Guardians all shared a cheer, glad to finally be heading home for some time. Dutch smiled, and headed for the barracks. Inside, he walked over to the cot he had set up, taking down his decorations and stowing his notebooks inside of his pack. While he had a bit more in his apartment in the City, Dutch rarely brought anything with him on deployments, except for his notebooks and a few pictures with his Fireteam. Picking up the nearest one, he looked at the photo of him and Felix wearing paper Crota heads as Poe chased them with a sword.

“You know, one of these days I’ll finally get a look inside of those notebooks of yours,” Caitlin said, making Dutch jump a mile. He threw her a slight glare, sticking the last of his belongings into the pack. Finished, he sat down on his cot, removing his helmet to reveal the dark blue alloys of his Exo skin. He had two small horns above either eye, each yellow, and a yellow splatter he had Felix paint across his face. 

“Maybe Caitlin, just maybe,” he said as she removed her helmet to reveal a human, with shoulder length red hair which was tied into a loose ponytail and an array of freckles across her nose. “What makes you so interested in them anyway?” 

“Well,” she said, beginning to pack up her own area, “you guard them pretty well. I mean remember when Felix tried to steal one and you put him in a headlock?” Felix, who had just come in, scowled. 

“Hey I was almost free when you guys broke it up,” Caitlin and Dutch both chuckled, fully aware that the small Dawnblade was hardly a bastion of physical strength. “But seriously Dutch, what’s in there that you’d choke your best friend out over it, huh?” he asked the Exo. 

“If I told you,” Dutch said, a wry smile on his lips, “then I’d have to kill you. It’s nothing, it’s just my private journals, I write notes and personal shit I don’t need people reading.” Felix raised an eyebrow, but smiled and dropped the topic.

“Alright, but if it’s full of confessions of your love for me, we both know you’ll be disappointed,” he said, his smile broadening as he packed his things. Poe looked over at him suspiciously as Felix waggled his eyebrows. 

“What’s that supposed to mean Felix? You don’t mean to tell us that some poor Guardian has been coerced into a date with you?” Felix spun around to the burly Exo, doing a little dance as he did so while Dutch and Caitlin laughed at the two.

“No tricks, no scams, no gimmicks my friend! Just a cute Titan who saw some of my action in the Crucible last time I was at the Tower!” Poe slapped a hand against his dented helmet, shaking his head. 

“If Saint-14 could see this he would weep. Oh the tragedy, how could a Titan have betrayed us like this?” he cried out in mock anguish. Felix rolled his eyes, throwing his stuff back into a pack. As the fireteam packed, there was a slight pinging noise outside, and the sound of clanking. “Felix, go take a look would you?” Poe asked. Felix, grumbling, turned and walked outside, expecting to find a loose plate bouncing in the wind. As he exited the barracks, the clanking grew louder. Growing nervous, Felix tapped his helmet and opened a communications link to the others. 

“Guys? Something is up, get out here.” He raised his rifle, scanning the base. As the others joined him, he held up a hand. They halted, raising their various weapons in a defensive position. Felix strained to listen as an echo came through the sandy base- heavy, thudding marching. “CABAL!” he shouted, raising his rifle as dozens of Phalanxes marched into view at the base of the hill. Their slug rifles barked as they opened fire on the Guardians, the enormous aliens marching up the hill toward the base. The fireteam slid into the trench they had dug, returning fire. Poe watched as Dutch’s hand cannon brought one down, even as Felix’s auto rifle pinged bullets off of another’s shield. Caitlin’s Ghost took off, quickly buzzing to the communications panel, where it activated the relay before disappearing back to her. 

“Vanguard Actual, this is Cliffside Outpost, over!” Poe shouted as he fired off another round from his pulse rifle, which slammed into the head of one of the Phalanxes. 

“Bzzt- Vanguard, go ahead -bzzt- Outpost.” 

“We have hostiles attacking the Outpost, where are the relief forces and supplies?” Dutch swore as his gun ran dry. The Stormcaller tossed out a ball of lightning which expanded into a storm, downing another Phalanx. 

“Bzzzzzzzt- nearly there -bzzzzt-” Poe swore as the connection went static. The others fired some more, chasing off the remaining Phalanxes who had no doubt retreated to get reinforcements. The reprieve only lasted a minute or two, enough time to grab the remainder of the ammo they had stored away. At the base of the hill, a column of Legionnaires marched up the hill. The haggard Guardians fired back, shifting positions to dodge the grenades and slugs lobbed their way. At last, out of ammo, Felix looked over to see a Phalanx who’d reached the trenchline send Dutch flying with its shield. 

“No!” Felix cried, rage and Light filling him as two flaming wings sprouted from his back. Leaping into the air, a blade appeared in his hands, which he flung upon the Phalanx. His allies shielded their eyes as he showered fire upon the Cabal. At last, the survivors activated their jetpacks, retreating from the burning Warlock in a hurry.   
Exhausted after the battle, Felix landed, his wings fading. Caitlin caught him as he slumped down into the trench and let sleep take him. The Warlock awoke to a tapping on his foot. Looking up groggily, he saw Dutch offering him a hand. As the Exo pulled him up, he noticed some other Guardians he didn’t recognize setting down crates and establishing a perimeter. 

“Relief force made it,” Dutch said. “Poe has your pack, we’re gonna go ahead and start walking to the pick-up zone.” Felix held up a hand, blocking out the bright sun. He hadn’t been training as a Dawnblade for long, and it still exhausted him every time he summoned the sword. “If you need a minute, we can wait,” Dutch said. Felix shook his head. 

“I’m alright, just tired. Let’s get going.” The two set off, meeting up with the others at the edge of the camp. The Fireteam turned back, waving goodbye both to the outpost they had called home for six months and to the Guardians replacing them there. Turning, they walked, silently, into the Martian sands. As they walked, Caitlin stepped up next to Dutch. 

“So what’ll you do when we get back?” she asked. He shrugged. 

“I have a bit of research I need to get done in the libraries there, but honestly I’m just going to take some time to relax.” He squinted, barely making out the small pickup point off in the distance. “What about you? Any fun plans?” Caitlin chuckled. 

“There may be some plans for the four of us in the works. I just gotta get in touch with a friend first, but you guys will enjoy it,” she said. Dutch couldn’t see her face, but he was sure she had another one of her wry smiles on her face. “That is, if we can manage to peel Felix away from his Titan friend.” The two chuckled, chatting to pass the time until they arrived at the zone. There, they found three other Guardians waiting for them, a Warlock and two Titans. Felix and Dutch recognized one of them, a Warlock by the name of Palus Scrawn. 

“Palus, good to see you,” Dutch said. The other Warlock nodded to him. 

“Felix, Dutch, it is good to see you. How was your deployment?” Dutch and Felix both shrugged in sync. Palus nodded, chuckling. “It was quite the same for me. My research all but ground to a halt here due to the constant stream of Cabal; I look forward to returning to the City, where I can pick up where I left off.” As Dutch opened his mouth to respond, a large gunship came into view, hovering above the assembled Guardians. Wordlessly, they transmatted aboard the ship, which sped off toward Earth. As they flew, the other fireteam all fell asleep, lolling to the sides in their harnesses. Dutch, eager for rest, and Felix, still exhausted from his use of Daybreak, also quickly fell asleep, leaving Poe and Caitlin as the only conscious members of the ship. Poe leaned in to Caitlin, keeping an eye on Palus. 

“Who is that Warlock who spoke with Dutch and Felix?” he whispered to her. She shuddered, a shadow passing over her face.

“He’s eerie. I first met him through Dutch, but my friend had gone on a mission with him. He’s one of those Thanatonauts, the Warlocks that die over and over to try and find new knowledge. I think it’s messed him up a bit. Apparently his Ghost is also somewhat odd, or at least, that’s what my friend told me.” Poe shuddered. He, like every Guardian, had died many times since his rebirth, but the idea of doing so on purpose spooked him. 

“Warlocks are so odd,” he said, turning his eyes to their sleeping companions. “Caitlin, do you know what those two research?” She shook her head. 

“Not specifically. I know that Dutch has been doing something with the Hive, while Felix works with studies of the Light. Other than that, I don’t really know.” Poe shuddered. 

“Dutch’s research worries me, whatever it is. There was this time on Luna-” He suddenly stopped, choosing to fake a yawn instead. “Ah, it’s not important.”   
She frowned as Poe fell silent. 

“Poe? What happened when you two were on Luna?” Poe looked distressed, clearly having said more than he had intended to say. 

“Just weird Warlock stuff, I don’t really know what he was doing, it was just spooky.” Caitlin nodded and stopped pressing. She frowned. ‘Why don’t I know more about what my own friends are researching? After all, I don’t want either of them to wind up like Osiris, or worse, Toland. If Dutch is doing research on the Hive-’ A bit of movement caught her eye. Looking up she saw that Palus had woken up and was staring at her. Without his helmet, she saw an older Awoken who was missing one eye. He smiled at her, leaving Caitlin with a sense of unease which she couldn’t shake until the City came into view.

II

As they stepped off the ship, Felix stretched, yawning. “Boy what a smooth ride. I was out like a light as soon as I buckled in.” The others smiled, their Ghosts zooming around, eager to be back where they could safely be out and about. 

“Dutch, you want to go grab some food? That tasty ramen shop down the road is calling our name!” Felix said excitedly. Dutch chuckled, but shook his head. 

“Maybe tonight before we go out,” he said. “I wanna head home and clean up first, unwind a little.” Felix nodded, waving goodbye to the others as he ran off toward the hangar. Poe also said his goodbyes, heading over to talk to Banshee-44. Caitlin and Dutch got on one of the cargo elevators, riding it down into the City. While all Guardians received a small dormitory in the Tower, courtesy of the Vanguard, many veterans bought apartments down in the City. Caitlin quietly observed the Exo. He looked at her, chuckling. “Can I help you?” he laughed jokingly. Caitlin nodded. 

“Actually you can. You can start tonight, by telling me what you’re researching and why Poe won’t talk about what he saw you doing on the Moon.” Dutch’s smile faded slightly, but remained on his face. 

“Sure, of course. Tonight, sounds good!” he said, feigning excitement. Caitlin narrowed her eyes as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. As Dutch stepped out immediately, she raised her voice, calling out from behind him, 

“I’ll hold you to that!” Dutch raised a thumbs up as he walked on, a nervous feeling in his gut. At last, he arrived at the small street which he called home. As he approached his apartment, a small woman was sweeping the stoop out front. “Mrs. Polena?” he asked. The old woman looked up, her wrinkled face breaking into a broad smile.

“Oh Dutch it’s you! It does me good to see you back in one piece.” She set the broom to the side and gave him a motherly hug. Dutch and the woman had become close after he had made sure her family was one of the first ones evacuated during the Red War. In gratitude, she invited him to come live in her old apartment, which had miraculously survived the occupation. She herself had moved out, choosing to live with her immediate family. After relaying a bit of news from the fronts to her, he walked up the stairs to his apartment.   
It wasn’t large by any stretch of the imagination- just a bedroom and bathroom, with a small living room connected to a smaller kitchen. Walking in, his Ghost, Mozart, began floating around, heading for the small nest it had constructed for itself. Tossing his pack down, Dutch breathed a sigh of relief as he turned around- to find a cloaked figure sitting on his bed. Dutch swore as Mozart blinked and his Service Revolver appeared in Dutch’s hand. As he brought it up, the figure turned on a light. Dutch froze, then growled, “Mozart, you can put this away.” As the gun disappeared from his grasp, he crossed his arms, glaring at the figure. “What do you want? Did Lakshmi send you?” he asked aggressively. The masked Hunter, wearing the cloak of the Future War Cult, stood, handing him a data pad. On it was a message, reading, ‘Come pay me a visit soon. We have much to talk about. -Lakshmi-2’ As Dutch handed back the pad, the figure wordlessly turned, climbing through the bedroom window onto the fire escape. 

Dutch slammed the window behind the Hunter “Damn it. Of course she wants to talk. I haven’t even finished my prototype yet!” he yelled, as Mozart floated around anxiously. Dutch placed his hands down on the counter, trying to focus. “Okay,” he said, turning to his Ghost, “we can finish the prototype, test it, and hope that’s enough for her.” Mozart nodded. 

“She has to know that you still have Vanguard responsibilities to attend to,” the Ghost said. Dutch nodded. “Just show her the work you’ve done, that will have to be enough.” Dutch nodded again, relaxing the tension in his shoulders. 

“Thanks buddy,” he said, offering his fist for Mozart to bump with his shell. Dutch went about unpacking, washing the dirty clothes and cleaning the equipment which he had brought to Mars. As he sat cleaning a few of his weapons, he felt himself drift off, falling into a deep sleep. 

Hours later, Mozart came up, bumping the sleeping Exo’s head. Dutch started, looking around confused. “Did I doze off?” he asked his Ghost. Mozart nodded. 

“You’ve been asleep for a few hours. I woke you because Miss Caitlin called you a minute or two ago, and I thought it might be important.” Dutch nodded. 

“Thank you Mozart.” Dutch walked over and picked up and picked up his commlink. “Hey Caitlin,” he said, “what’s up?” 

“There you are! Felix, Poeee, and I are in the Wo-olf’s Den, come and join us! Felix *hicc* brought that Titan he was talking about!” Dutch chuckled. They had already begun the celebration, by the sounds of it. 

“Alright, I’m on my way,” he said. He grabbed his duster, brushing off a little red sand that was still on it. He turned to Mozart. “Can you grab one of my sidearms? The Häkke one?” The Ghost blinked and the small sidearm and a primary ammo pack blinked into existence on the table. Dutch loaded the weapon, then slid it into the holster he kept inside his jacket. 

“Expecting trouble?” he asked the Guardian as he tucked the gun into the back of his pants. Dutch shrugged, adjusting his robes to hide the weapon.

“You know how the Wolf’s Den gets. Besides, I want to be ready in case Lakshmi sends anyone who is a little more direct in their communication. You know she doesn’t like stray Guardians.” Mozart vanished in a shower of light, his voice now echoing inside Dutch’s head. 

“Alright. Just don’t be hasty. Things are already going to be touchy, especially since the Praxic Order and followers of the Drifter are starting to draw battle lines.” Dutch nodded, turning up the collar of his coat as he made his way into the base of the wall, where many of the bars and restaurants frequented by Guardians were located. After wandering through a few side streets, he arrived at an alley with a small ramen shop and a wooden sign with a golden wolf painted on it. Pushing open the door, he saw his friends hanging out at a table in the back, with many other patrons sitting at the bar and other tables. It was a busy night, most likely since a number of Fireteams had cycled off of combat duty. Dutch squeezed his way over to his friends, embracing a very drunk Poe who leaned in for a hug as Dutch approached. 

“Ish good ter see you Butch,” the Exo said, smiling. While he was out of his armor, Poe still had a head on Dutch, and took up about two seats in the booth. Dutch nodded as he squeezed in next to Caitlin, raising a hand to shake with the woman sitting next to Felix. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” he said as she shook it. The Awoken had bright purple eyes and a long scar running down her jawline, which rippled as she smiled at the Exo. 

“My name’s Kara,” she said. “Member of the Firebreak Order. It’s good to meet you! You’re Dutch right?” The Exo nodded. 

“Guilty as charged!” He grinned, leaning close to Caitlin’s ear, saying, “I’m gonna run grab a drink, you want anything?” She chuckled as she replied, 

“One of those llil drinks with ther umbrellla in it!” Dutch laughed as he stood and worked his way over to the bar. The bartender, Lewis, was a burly Human with tattoos covering his well muscled frame. He was a semi-retired Guardian, who had been relieved from active duty after decades of service, but who still ran patrols in the Cosmodrome with some of his old squadmates from time to time. It was an open secret among patrons of the Wolf’s Den that Lewis kept not one, but two loaded shotguns under his counter, a fact that kept the bar relatively peaceful. 

“Guardian.” the bartender said, nodding. He jabbed a thumb over toward Caitlin and the others. “They send you over? I cut the big man off a bit ago, but he keeps sending other people up to get more.” Dutch laughed. 

“No, just one on the rocks for me and one more umbrella drink for one of the ladies.” Lewis nodded and Dutch slid him the glimmer. As he poured the drinks, Dutch looked around the bar. He spotted a few guys in Dead Orbit gear, as well as two Titans with Vanguard markings on their armor. Dutch relaxed a bit, grateful not to see any FWC logos in the crowd. He thanked Lewis, rejoining the table, where Felix was explaining in great detail their adventures on Mars. The friends drank and swapped stories from their most recent tour of duty, eventually leading the bar in a ragged chorus. Finally, Lewis issued a stern warning to the bar’s remaining occupants, and those still there stumbled into the street, singing and laughing. Poe was still in the bar, laid gently in the booth by Felix and Dutch. After wandering a bit, Felix and his new friend Kara wandered off toward the Tower barracks, where Kara lived, while Caitlin and Dutch made their way into a public park which the Vanguard had commissioned after the Red War. The two flopped down on a bench and sat for a moment. 

“So,” she said in a serious tone of voice, “tell me about your research. And why Poe is scared of you now." Dutch chuckled. Even as the Hunter was trying to be intimidating, she was still wobbling a little. 

“Well,” he said, straining his alcohol-muddled brain to remember the description he had thought up, “I am researching Hive anatomy. The more we know about how they work as creatures, the more damage we can do when it's time to put ‘em down. So I study how their bodies work.” Caitlin mulled it over for a moment. 

“So what about that made Poe freak out?" she asked. Dutch was suddenly very glad he couldn’t sweat. She stared at him intensely, waiting for an answer.

“Well, I needed a sample of some Hive chitin, so I was doing a bit of a dissection when he found me.” He tried to chuckle and make it sound like just another caper. “You should have seen him, he almost puked.” Caitlin frowned, but seemed satisfied. The two stood from the bench and began walking again. "Hey," Dutch said, eager to get off of his research, "where would you travel if you had enough time to get out and visit somewhere?" Caitlin looked off, thinking. 

"I'd visit Venus and go for a backpacking trip there. The flora is simply amazing, all those gnarled trees and beautiful hot springs. That's the one." Dutch smiled.

"Venus is awful pretty. Maybe on our next deployment we can request that we get to guard the Ishtar Sink!" Caitlin laughed. "I mean it's also awful quiet down there, what with the House of Winter breaking up, and the Vex shifting their focus to Nessus. Be nice to not be in a hot combat zone."

"You just don't wanna go back to Mars, do you?" Caitlin asked, a cheeky smile on her face. "Does the sand get in your servos or something?" Dutch rolled his eyes.

"It's not the sand and you know it Caitlin," he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He could still feel the the alcohol in his system loosening his tongue. "After the missions to locate the records of Holborn’s Host, I just can’t-" he quickly closed his mouth. "Anyway," he said, "the sand does suck." Caitlin looked up at the apartment building they had come to.

"Well this is me.” She turned to him and patted him on the side of his head. “It'll be okay buddy," she said to him, smiling as she walked away into the complex. Dutch frowned. 'I hope she's right,' he thought, as he walked back to his own apartment.

III

Dutch was walking through the Martian sand. There was something ahead, a cave. Dutch could hear the sounds of something squirming along the ground inside. As his Ghost lit up the area, he saw there were worms all over the cave. Each had three, small, glowing eyes which all seemed to tear a hole into him. As he raised his hands to block out their hungry gaze, he saw that his arms were now the three fingered claws of an acolyte. The worms, sensing his panic, dove upon him, teeth in their eyes.   
He woke with a start, Mozart zooming over from where he had been resting. He waved him off. “I’m alright buddy. Just a bad dream.” Rolling over, Dutch looked at the clock, which read 3:40 a.m. Sighing, he rose, pulling on some clothes before moving to his living room, where he had set up a work table earlier. Mozart floated in as Dutch got settled and began to work. 

“Is that thing almost done? The sight of it gives me chills, it’s not natural!” Dutch frowned as he carefully grafted a piece of bone onto the top of the scope.

“I know it scares you Mozart, but it could make a huge difference in the wars to come. Besides, you know I have to hold up my end of the bargain with Lakshmi-2.” The Ghost drifted around the table to face him. 

“How close are you to being done, so that your accounts with her are all settled?” Dutch sighed, setting down a chunk of chitin he was holding. 

“Once I finish this, run a field test, and then show it to Lakshmi, I’ll be all clear. She'll get me the records of and we'll be able to decrypt memories 23-27.” Mozart nodded slowly, mulling it over. He floated over and shone a small light on the section Dutch was working on. 

“Let me help,” the Ghost said. Dutch looked at him, surprised.

“But isn’t this, you know-” 

“Not entirely in line with the Traveler and the Light and all that? You’re right. But it’s not meant to kill Guardians, and you’re making it to help protect the City and its inhabitants, so I’ll help. Especially if it means you’re done with this sooner.” Dutch nodded appreciatively. The Ghost and his Guardian set about their work, carefully assembling the pieces of the weapon over the course of the night. 

Dutch yawned, straightening up and lifting the final product, admiring it in the glow of the morning sun. “It’s as good as it’ll get I suppose,” he muttered. Satisfied, he pulled on his duster and boots, and got ready to leave. 

“Mozart?” he asked, “Could you let Lakshmi know that we’re running a field test today and will be by later?” The Ghost blinked, then nodded. “Excellent. Let’s get to the EDZ and try this thing out. I’m really hoping these calculations worked.” Dutch made his way to the elevator which led up to the new Tower, sharing the ride with some New Lights who spent most of the ride dancing. He chuckled as he disembarked at the top, making his way into the Hangar. On the way there, he turned a corner, lost in thought, bumping into a large Titan. He looked up to apologize, only to see Poe's face. 

“Dutch!” the burly Titan yelled. “How good to see you!” He squinted at the Warlock. “You look like shit my friend, was last night really that rough for you?” Dutch shook his head. 

“Wasn’t what you think. I was up late working on a project for my research.” Poe nodded. “Say Poe, I’ve got to get going to the EDZ, I’ll see ya later!” As he tried to step past Poe, the Titan put a hand on his chest, looking him directly in the eye. 

“I must apologize, my friend. Caitlin was asking me about your research yesterday and I accidentally told her about what I saw you doing on the Moon. I didn't mean to violate your trust, it just slipped out,” Poe said. Dutch patted him on the shoulder and gave him a smile. 

“It’s all fine big man, I told her everything when she asked me about it last night.” Poe looked relieved, returning the smaller Exo’s smile. 

“I’m glad. Friends should not keep secrets.” Dutch felt a pang of guilt at this. “What are you getting into today?” the Titan asked.

“I need some Dusklight Shards to improve a weapon, so I’m headed to the EDZ,” Dutch said, unsure if Poe could detect how nervous he felt. 

“In that case, I’m going to accompany you! It just so happens that I’ve been asked to patrol Trostland for the day!” Dutch nodded, feigning excitement. “I’ll drive,” Poe said as they neared the hanger. Poe turned to a technician, nodding as she tapped a data pad to summon his jumpship. The two buckled in, slamming backwards in their seats as they departed the City at a blistering pace. Poe flipped a switch and got on the radio, communicating with Devrim regarding Fallen movements. Dutch sat quietly, trying to consider how he was going to slip away from Poe. “Thanks Devrim,” Poe said, ending the comms link. “Well, the Fallen have been quiet lately. A few ether-scavenging crews here and there, but overall we’ve gained some ground.” Nodding, Dutch looked out the window as the church Devrim used as a headquarters came into view. The two disembarked, waving at Devrim. The sniper offered them a slight salute before sending a shot downrange. The hiss of ether exploding outward confirmed his hit. “Alright Dutch,” Poe said, “I have to patrol out by the Outskirts. Why don’t you tag along?” Dutch grimaced behind his helmet. 

“I would, but this Hunter told me they had seen a bunch of Dusklight Shards in out in the Gulch, so I’ll head there first, then meet up with you.” Poe nodded. Dutch felt awful lying to kindly Exo. Poe was practically a saint, having served in the Pilgrim Guard since his birth and even staying in the City while it was occupied in the Red War to save as many as he could. As the two mounted their Sparrows and zoomed off, Mozart began to run diagnostic checks on Dutch’s project before he pulled off the broken highway into the canyon of the Gulch. Maneuvering through the canyon, Dutch stepped into pitch-dark sector which he knew almost always was a site of conflict between the Fallen and Cabal. As he advanced, Mozart transmatted his project into his hands, and he checked it one last time before advancing further, toward the sounds of arc fire and Cabal war-cries. 

-

Dutch walked between the bodies of the enemies he had brought down. By the time that he had arrived, the fight was mostly over, so all he had to do was mop up the few survivors. He could feel a nervous energy as he began walking toward one of the cave’s exits. It had been two years since he had begun this project, and it was finally complete. All he had to do was turn the blueprints and his process notes over to Lakshmi and he was going to get a few more of his memories back. He stepped out of the cave, walking toward where he had left his Sparrow- and saw Poe leaning up against a rock next to it. The Titan noticed him, turning toward Dutch and freezing as he saw the weapon in his hands. Dutch looked down at the rifle raising a hand as Poe swung his rifle to bear, drawing a bead on the Warlock. 

“Drop it Dutch, whatever the hell that is!” Dutch hesitated. “I said drop it damn it!” Dutch gingerly laid the rifle down on the ground, stepping away from it with his hands up. 

“It’s not what you think it is Poe, I promise.” Poe, his weapon still trained on the Warlock, stepped up to the weapon. His Ghost reappeared, and scanned the weapon. 

“There is no trace of the Darkness present in the copies of Thorn or in Malfeasance,” it said. “There are faint traces, but that is all,” The Ghost vanished once again. Poe seemed to relax a little, but his rifle didn’t waver. 

“We’re calling Felix. And Caitlin. Felix especially will know whether you’ve crossed any lines.” Dutch raised his hands and started to speak, 

“Poe, it’s not a Weapon of Sorro-”

“Shut up. I should’ve told Felix after what I saw on Luna. Now I know what it was for.” He stowed his rifle, opting instead for a Vanguard-issued sidearm as his Ghost transmatted the weapon off the ground. Poe contacted Felix and Caitlin, asking them to come to the Gulch as soon as they could. Dutch pretended that he didn’t hear Poe ask for Felix to bring his Ghost restraint. It was about an hour that they waited; Dutch tried to start to explain himself, but Poe kept saying, “Wait until they get here.” At last, the sound of two Sparrows zooming up roused Dutch from his thoughts. Felix and Caitlin came into view, weapons drawn, but down. Dutch could feel Mozart’s fear as his Ghost spotted the restraint jangling on Felix’s hip.

“So what’s happening?” Felix asked, clearly lost. “Why did you need me to bring this?” Caitlin wasn’t looking to Poe, but to Dutch. 

“What did you do?” she asked the Warlock. Dutch gestured toward the Titan, who still had his pistol up. Poe looked around, then pointed to the cave which Dutch came from. 

“We should do this somewhere more private.” They walked into the cave, Poe keeping his gun on Dutch up until they arrived at a large stone slab. There, he nodded to his Ghost who beamed the weapon onto the slab. “Felix, what is this?” 

IV

On the slab laid a what appeared to be a modified Halfdan-D auto rifle from Häkke, cut so that its barrel was shorter, along with a silencer attached to its end. The weapon looked fairly normal, even retaining the factory coat of paint- or it would, were it not for the scope. The scope appeared to be a standard midrange one, but it was covered in Hive chitin and two wires attached it to a battery on the side of the weapon. In the front of the scope, where a lens would normally be, three, glowing lights sat, emitting small wisps of green light. Caitlin’s hand dropped to her knife instinctively, while Felix took a step closer, examining the weapon.

“Dutch are those Hive eyes?” Felix growled, turning to the silent Warlock. Dutch stepped a little closer to the weapon, causing Poe to flinch, tightening his grip on his sidearm. Caitlin was silent, staring at the glowing scope on the rifle.

“I’m not going to do anything, really Poe.” Caitlin placed a hand on Poe’s arm. 

“Dutch you need to explain right now,” she said, deadly ice in her voice. “Poe, he can’t do that if you shoot him. There’s three of us and one of him, it’ll be okay.” Poe grunted, lowering his weapon, but keeping it out. Dutch looked at the kitbashed weapon he had built. 

“It was after the Taken War that the Future War Cult asked me to explore this weapon. ‘The Young Wolf may have slain Crota and Oryx, but what of other threats from Luna?’ they had asked me. Lakshmi-2 talked about Saint-14, Wei Ning, Toland, and Osiris and how the City believed that each to be unstoppable, until they weren’t. Now with Crota dead and Oryx dead, rumors from all corners indicate that support for a new reclamation effort is building. Future War Cult asked me to come up with something that would help protect Guardians who venture to the Moon and try to clear out its thousands of tunnels.” He gestured to the rifle’s body. “It’s a standard assault rifle, decent armor piercing capabilities and easy to repair. I shortened the barrel to make it more maneuverable in confined tunnels without losing too much firepower. I originally designed a barrel light which drew on the user’s Light to illuminate the dark corners of the Moon, but the Light put too much strain on the battery cells. They would burn out in almost an instant once Light was introduced.” He took another step closer to the weapon and eyed the others in the cave. Felix had his arms crossed, stone-silent. Caitlin was alternating between keeping an eye on Poe and Dutch, with one hand on her knife at all times. Poe kept flexing his fist, but he seemed to have relaxed a little bit. Dutch continued, 

“Then I thought of Eris. She lost her sight, her Light, her Ghost. But she took the eyes of the Hive and she escaped and survived. I figured, if we’re going to beat them, we need to be able to see, whatever the situation.” He nodded to Poe. “What the big man saw on Luna was me surgically probing the eyes of the Hive. I needed to see how the eyes and the helmet worked while the monster was alive, so that I could analyze how the two worked in tandem to sense and process information. He found me while I had just finished, sitting over a torn apart Hive with a knife I had commissioned a Hunter to make me, gore splattered-” The Exo paused, shuddering. “It was nasty, but it gave me the data I needed. These three green lights are not Hive eyes, they’re from the helmets they wear, but the function remains the same. It took me months to tune the rest of the scope to account for non-Hive eyes looking down it. This scope will allow Guardians to venture into the Moon’s depths without losing track of one another like those teams in the Pacific Archaeology or the original Crota Fireteam. It’ll save lives. The ammunition is not charged with Darkness, this is not a Guardian-killing Weapon of Sorrow. You can check the weapon yourself, have your Ghosts analyze it, they’ll tell you the same things I am.” Felix nodded, and his Ghost scanned the magazine. 

“He’s telling the truth,” the Ghost said. Felix began to pace back and forth, finally stopping and turning to Dutch. 

“If this isn’t a Weapon of Sorrow, then why go to these great lengths to hide it? I mean hell, enough people are running around with Malfeasances or recreations of Thorn that the Praxic Order can’t keep up.” Dutch sighed. 

“Because there are trace amounts of the Darkness in the scope. The chitin is from Hive warriors and still has enough traces of the Darkness that it helps the eyes to highlight Guardians in bright white, while other targets simply show up as a reddish grey. I didn’t want the Praxic Order coming down on me or the FWC over this.” 

“How much Darkness are we talking about?” Felix asked, folding his arms. Dutch thought for a moment, before Mozart transmatted one of his journals next to the weapon. 

“My notes and calculations on it are on page 6.” Felix picked up the book and began to flip through the notes. The battery on the side helps to activate the scope, but it also serves as a check on the Darkness there. Like I said, the batteries wouldn’t hold up when Orbs of Light were the primary fuel source; however, when I added the chitin, the readings leveled off. The battery will last for a long time, and the Light powering it, by my calculations, will eventually diminish the scope’s functionality by wiping away the Darkness in it. When that happens, you just replace the chitin to rebalance it. Dutch took off his helmet and ran a hand across his head. “Look, I’m trying to do right by the City, and if we’re sending Guardians back to the moon, I’m trying to make damn sure that they’re ready for it.” At last, Caitlin spoke up. 

“So you’ll give this to the FWC?” Dutch nodded.

“My notebooks, blueprints, instructions for building the components, and this prototype will all go to Lakshmi-2 herself. I expect they’ll hang onto them, wait and see if we go back to Luna. If we do, I imagine they’ll begin producing it or at least present it to the Consensus to see if they will approve widespread production.” Everyone turned as Poe’s sidearm vanished, and he crossed his arms. 

“I’ve lost too many friends on the Moon. It’s hell there.” He removed his helmet and looked Dutch in the eye. “I don’t like having to harvest Hive bits to keep our people safe, but I understand what you’re doing and why.” Dutch nodded to him. Caitlin gave him a nod as well, removing her hand from her knife. They turned to Felix. 

“Look, Felix, I know you’ve got your Praxic duty, so if you need to report this, I understand, really. No hard feelings, alright?” Dutch said, trying to gauge the Dawnblade’s mood. Felix was silent for a moment, before he removed his helmet. 

“If the Praxic Order is going to let Gambit players, Malfeasance, and even a few copies of Thorn run around the City, then we can let one Guardian try and make something that might save lives in the long run.” Dutch breathed a sigh of relief. Felix raised a hand. “But,” he said, an edge creeping into his voice, “I want you to let me know if the FWC ever crosses a line, okay?” Dutch nodded.

“Okay.” Felix held out his notebook, and Dutch took it and the weapon, transmatting both out. “I’m going to take these to Lakshmi. After this, I’m done with their projects and any research I do is finally my own.” The others nodded. “I guess I’ll see you all back at the City?” he said. Poe chuckled. 

“After this? I think you owe me a stiff drink,” the large Exo said. Caitlin nodded. 

“I didn’t think you would make something nasty like Thorn, but you had me worried for a second. You owe me one as well.” Felix also chuckled. 

“Here I was, thinking I may have to arrest my best friend and detain his Ghost. Hell, I was the most worried of all of us! You owe me two Dutch.” Dutch smiled, replacing his helmet. 

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you three, but with the FWC’s insistence on silence and the Praxic Order’s increased security, I just thought if you didn’t know, then any trouble would just be on me.” Caitlin snorted. 

“Please, if you get in trouble, we’re all jumping in after you. Next time, just tell us in advance, before Poe has to nearly blow you apart to get answers.” Dutch bowed his head apologetically. 

“Next time,” he said, “I will.”


End file.
